CQC Statement of Purpose: Template Guide and Example

A statement of purpose explains what your service does, where it operates and who it supports. It is a legal requirement and must be submitted as part of a new provider's registration application.

The strongest statements are accurate, specific and consistent with the application form. They do not rely on broad marketing language; they clearly describe the proposed regulated service.

What your statement must cover

• The business name, legal status, address and contact details.
• The provider's aims and objectives for the regulated activities.
• Each location's address, contact details and description.
• The type of service delivered at or from each location.
• The needs of the people the service is designed to support.
• The regulated activities carried on at each location.
• The manager responsible for each activity and location, including relevant contact and job-share details.

Write aims and objectives that are meaningful

Aims explain the overall outcomes your service intends to achieve. Objectives describe the practical commitments that support those aims. Connect them to the proposed client group and delivery model.

• Use plain, measurable language rather than slogans.
• Explain how dignity, choice, safety, equality and independence will be supported.
• Reflect the actual needs and communication requirements of the people you plan to support.
• Align commitments with staffing, training, governance and risk-management arrangements elsewhere in the application.

Common statement-of-purpose mistakes

• Using a company trading name where the legal provider name is required.
• Listing activities or locations that differ from the application form.
• Describing a wider client group than the service is prepared to support.
• Leaving generic template wording that does not apply to the service.
• Naming managers whose application or responsibilities do not align with the statement.
• Submitting separate fragments instead of one complete, controlled document.

CQC Statement of Purpose example for domiciliary care

The following is an illustrative aims-and-objectives paragraph for a fictional home care service. It demonstrates how to describe delivery; it is not a complete Statement of Purpose or wording to copy without checking your service.

Our aim is to support adults who need assistance with personal care to live with dignity and choice in their own homes. We will agree the support for each visit with the person, record their communication preferences and review the plan with them when their needs change. The registered manager will review missed or late visits, concerns and feedback to identify improvements.

Replace the example with your actual client group, care tasks, arrangements and responsibilities. Elsewhere in the document, complete the provider, location, regulated-activity and manager information required by CQC. Check that every commitment can be delivered by the staffing, training and governance described in your application.

Check your Statement of Purpose against your CQC business plan →

Final review and ongoing control

1. 1Compare every provider, location, activity and manager detail with the application.
2. 2Ask someone who understands the proposed service to challenge vague or conflicting wording.
3. 3Add clear version control and keep the approved copy accessible.
4. 4Review the statement whenever the service or registration changes.
5. 5Follow CQC's current process for notifying revisions and keep evidence of the notification.

Check that your Statement of Purpose matches your CQC registration evidence →